Safety stirrup

ABSTRACT

A safety stirrup suitable for horse riding, including a generally U-shaped mounting member and a foot support member for receiving a rider&#39;s foot, such that when the rider&#39;s foot is in the normal use position the foot support is restrained by at least one mounting, and wherein upward vertical movement of the rider&#39;s foot out of the normal use position causes the mounting to release the foot support sufficiently that the foot support can move in the same direction as the rider&#39;s foot until the foot support is fully disconnected from the U-shaped mounting member.

The present invention relates to a horse riding stirrup. In particular,the present invention relates to a safety stirrup which prevents therider's foot being retained in the stirrup in the event of the riderbeing dismounted or thrown from the horse. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a novel two-way release safety stirrup.

Stirrups are well known in the prior art and have been used for hundredsof years. In general, a stirrup includes a D-shaped metal structure witha slot located in the centre of the arcuate portion of the D-shapedstructure for attachment of a stirrup strap, which in turn connects to asaddle. In use, the rider's foot is inserted into the D-shaped structureand the straight, base portion known as a footplate is located adjacentthe sole of the rider's boot while the arcuate portion of the stirrup islocated adjacent the upper of the rider's boot.

One of the problems associated with stirrups of the prior art is that ifthe rider is dismounted or thrown, they may not have sufficient time towithdraw their foot from the stirrup. Often the D-shaped structure fitsfirmly around the rider's boot, thus trapping the rider's foot. If thefoot remains trapped in the stirrup, and the horse continues moving, therider can be dragged along, often causing serious injury or death. Eachyear many people are injured or killed in this type of accident.

In order to overcome this well known problem, attempts have been made toprovide safety stirrups that release the rider's foot if the rider isdismounted or thrown from the horse. One form of safety stirrup of theprior art includes a frangible or weakened portion adjacent the pointwhere the stirrup is attached to the stirrup strap. If the rider isdismounted or thrown and their foot remains caught in the stirrup, thefrangible portion breaks, releasing the stirrup from the stirrup strap.However this type of safety stirrup suffers from the drawback that itmay break away from the stirrup strap during particularly hard riding,leaving the rider unbalanced, and unable to control the horse using hisor her feet. Furthermore, the rider cannot re-mount until a new stirrupis fitted, which can be difficult or inconvenient if the stirrup breaksaway in an isolated area. Furthermore, the frangible stirrup does notprevent leg injuries and is therefore of limited value for novice ordisabled riders. A further disadvantage is that these stirrup are verybulky in the region where they attach to the stirrup strap and theincreased bulk often causes excessive wear to the rider's clothing.

Another type of safety stirrup is disclosed in EP-0 065 714. This safetystirrup comprises a U-shaped release member supported at either end ofthe U-within a D-shaped mounting member. During normal riding, theD-shaped mounting member and the U-shaped release member lie in the sameplane. During normal riding, the sole of the rider's boot rests againstthe flat portion or footplate of the D-shaped member. If the rider isdismounted, the rider's foot causes the U-shaped release member to pivotout of the plane of the stirrup, concomitantly causing the footplate ofthe D-shaped mounting member to release at one end while the other endpivots away from the rest of the D-shaped mounting member. This allowsthe rider's foot to be released from the stirrup.

Other safety stirrups are described in AU-39229/95 and DE-2003387. Thesesafety stirrups also comprise articulated members that separate andrelease the rider's foot if the rider is dismounted or thrown.

Another, quite different type of safety stirrup is described in U.S.Pat. No. 1,276,819. The stirrup comprises a pair of hingedly engaged,downwardly extending arms forming a U-shaped member, with the footplatehingedly engaged adjacent the end of one of the arms and releasableengaged adjacent the end of the other arm. The stirrup further comprisesa vertically slideable plate which in use rests against the upper of therider's boot. If the rider's foot moves upwards, out of the normalin-use position, the plate slides upwards, activating a mechanism whichcauses one end of the footplate to release from one arm of the U-shapedmember, thus releasing the rider's boot.

Most safety stirrups can be classed as “one-way” release or “two-way”release stirrups. The “one-way” stirrup requires that the rider's footbe inserted in the stirrup in one particular direction or from oneparticular side if the release mechanism is to operate properly.Pressure exerted in the forward direction, that is, towards the rider'stoe, will not cause the safety stirrup to release. Only pressure exertedin the rearward direction, that is, towards the rider's heel will causethe safety stirrup to release. Because the stirrup only opens up in oneway or one direction, it is important that the rider's foot is insertedfrom the correct side of the stirrup, otherwise the release mechanismwill not operate properly.

Conversely a “two-way” safety stirrup will release if pressure isexerted from either the forward or rearwards direction, hence the ridercan place their foot in a two-way stirrup from either direction.

For example a typical one-way safety stirrup is disclosed inAU-62109/90. The safety stirrup of AU-62109/90 holds the rider's foot ina restraint that separates when the restraint is pivoted out of thenormal position. International application PCT/AU97/00398 disclosesanother one-way safety stirrup. The safety stirrup of PCT/AU97/00398also comprises a restraining means pivotally mounted between twoextremities of an inverted U-shaped mounting means.

As mentioned above, when attached correctly to stirrup straps, theone-way stirrups of the prior art release and open up only if therider's foot pivots rearwards. Because they only open in the rearwardsdirection, they cannot open up if the rider's foot pivots forwards orpushes hard into the stirrup, as may occur as a result of very hardriding such as during a polo match or rodeo riding. While the one-waystirrup works well for all standards of riding including very hardriding, one-way stirrups of the prior art suffer from the disadvantagethat they do not open up in response to certain types of ridingaccidents. For example, a one-way stirrup will not release if therider's foot exerts strong forward pressure as the rider is thrown overthe head of the horse, or to the side of the horse or in the course ofjumping. Another problem with some designs of one-way stirrup of theprior art is that the rider's foot may still be retained within theU-shaped mounting means even when the restraint is pivoted out of thenormal position and separates.

Furthermore, as already mentioned, the correct operation of one-waystirrups is conditional on the stirrup being connected to the stirrupstrap in one specific orientation, such that the rider's boot isinserted only in one particular direction into the stirrup. If thestirrup is oriented in the wrong direction it can release unexpectedlyand lead to rider injury and/or loss of control of the horse. There is arisk that some riders, in particular novice riders, may unwittinglyconnect a one-way stirrup to the stirrup strap in the wrong orientation.

For these reasons, many riders prefer two-way stirrups. An example of atwo-way safety stirrup of the prior art is disclosed in AU-26089/95.AU-26089/95 discloses a stirrup in which the rider's boot is held in aD-shaped restraint means which is pivotally mounted between twoextremities of an inverted U-shaped mounting means. If the rider isdismounted from the horse, the restraint means pivots out of the normalposition, one of the pivotal mountings releases from the mountingmember, and the restraint means separates, thus releasing the foot fromboth the restraint and the inverted U-shaped mounting means.

One of the disadvantages of two-way stirrups of the prior art is thatthe restraint means can be pushed out of the normal position by themovement and pressure exerted by hard riding. The amount of forwardpressure required to cause the safety stirrup to release isapproximately the same as the amount of rearward pressure required tocause release. Professional riders such as jockeys, mountain cattlemen,rodeo riders, polo players and the like exert enormous pressure onstirrups as they pull up a horse or lean back to resist being thrownover the horse's head. The pressure of the rider's foot being pressedhard into the stirrup can cause a two-way stirrup to suddenly release,unbalancing the rider and potentially causing them to fall from thehorse.

Typically, the safety stirrups of the prior art also have thedisadvantages of being made of metal, and thus being relatively heavy,and of having relatively complicated construction. In general, thestirrups of the prior art comprise articulated members or complicatedjoints between members which separate when the rider is dismounted—thearticulation and complicated construction contributing to the cost ofconstruction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a two-way safetystirrup that provides the desirable advantages of release in the eventof the rider being dismounted, but which is less prone to unexpectedrelease when pressure is applied in the forward direction. It is afurther object to provide a safety stirrup that is of far simplerconstruction than stirrups of the prior art, yet is not as prone tounexpected release and which can be made of materials other than metal(such as plastics and polymers) so that the stirrups are more economicalto manufacture and are of comparatively light weight.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a safety stirrup including:

a generally U-shaped mounting member, and

a foot support member for receiving a rider's foot, such that when therider's foot is in the normal use position, the foot support isrestrained by at least one mounting on the mounting member,

and wherein vertical movement of the rider's foot out of the normal useposition causes the mounting to release the foot support sufficientlythat the foot support can move in the same direction as the rider's footuntil the foot support is fully disconnected from the U-shaped mountingmember.

The term “normal use position” is used throughout the specification todenote the position of the rider's foot in the stirrup when a rider ismounting or mounted on a horse to which the stirrup is fitted. When therider's foot is in the normal use position, the U-shaped mounting memberand the foot support are generally co-planar, or have parallel planes.During normal riding the plane(s) is/are approximately vertical and therider's foot is approximately perpendicular to the plane of the U-shapedmounting member, the toe pointing in the forward position and the heeloriented in the rearward direction.

The present invention makes use of the fact that when the rider's footmoves out of the normal in-use position, such as when the rider isdismounted, there is a vertical component to the movement of the rider'sfoot. Typically, the rider's foot will move upwards relative to theU-shaped member and then rotate, or just rotate, both movementsincluding a significant vertical force component. In the safety stirrupof the present invention the vertical force component causes verticalmovement of the foot support relative to the U-shaped member, such thatthe foot support is shifted into a position where it can to move in thesame forward or rearwards direction as the rider's foot until the footsupport is fully disconnected from the U-shaped mounting member.

The generally U-shaped mounting member is typically in the shape of aninverted curve or takes the shape of three sides of a square orrectangle. Typically the foot support is D-shaped, and in normal use thesole of the rider's boot is adjacent the straight part of the D whichcomprises the footplate.

Typically, there are two mountings are located on either arms of theU-shaped mounting member.

Typically the mounting includes one or more primary projections whichcan be received in complementary shaped recesses. The primaryprojections may be located on the U-shaped mounting member and receivedin recesses in the foot support. Alternatively, the primary projectionsmay be located on the D-shaped foot support, and received in recesses inthe U-shaped mounting member. In a particularly preferred embodiment,each primary projection is of generally cylindrical shape, or a boss ofconvenient cross section.

The recess may be of any convenient shape may be of any convenient shapeand depth, sufficient to retain the primary projection and resistrotation of the foot support relative to the U-shaped mounting memberwhen the stirrup is in normal use. Typically, in response to verticalforce exerted by the rider's boot, the projection moves in the recess toa position which allows the D-shaped foot support to move in the samedirection as the rider's foot.

For example, the recess may be shaped to include an indentation in whichthe primary projection resides during normal use, and guide or passagealong which the primary projection may move in the forwards or rearwardsdirection in response to the force exerted by the rider's foot when therider is dismounted.

The at least one mounting may also include two secondary projectionslocated in recesses adjacent the ends of the U-shaped member andfootplate of the foot support. Typically the primary and secondaryprojections are located on the same element (either the U-shapedmounting member or the foot support). In a particularly preferredembodiment, the primary and secondary projections are located on theD-shaped foot support, and received in recesses in the U-shaped mountingmember.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, two secondary projections arelocated on the D-shaped foot support and comprise a long neck andbulbous head, forming a “mushroom” shape. The necks are received inslot-shaped recess at either end of the U-shaped mounting member.Typically, in response to vertical force exerted by the rider's boot,the secondary projection moves in the recess to a position which allowsthe D-shaped foot support to move in the same direction as the rider'sfoot.

In this particular embodiment, it is preferred the primary and secondaryprojections are on the D-shaped foot support and are located in recessesin the U-shaped mounting member. In response to vertical movement of therider's foot, the primary and secondary projections move verticallyupwards in their respective recesses. As the rider's boot rotates, theprimary projection follows a curved passage in the recess following thedirection of rotation of the rider's boot, until the projectiondisengages from the U-shaped member. At the same time, the secondaryprojection rotates in its recess and finally passes out through the slotshaped recess, thus completely disengaging the D-shaped foot supportfrom the U-shaped mounting member.

The safety stirrup of the present invention has the advantage that therelease characteristics can be adapted to the rider's skill level andthe type of riding being carried out. For example, the primary andsecondary projections can be configured such that the rider's foot hasto exert greater than normal force in either the forward or rearwardsdirections in order for the foot support to fully disconnect from theU-shaped mounting member. A professional rider who does hard riding andgenerally exerts a great deal of force on the stirrup could use a safetystirrup in which the projections fit deeply into the recesses so that agreat deal of forward or backwards force would need to be imposed beforethe foot support could be fully disconnected from the U-shaped mountingmember. For example, springs or other biasing means could be used toresist movement of the primary or secondary projections in their recess.Alternatively, for a novice rider who is more likely to fall and lesslikely to exert a great deal of force on the stirrup, the recesses couldbe very shallow and shaped so that relatively less forward or backwardpressure would be required to fully disconnect the foot support from theU-shaped mounting member.

Furthermore the shape of the primary or secondary projection andcorresponding recess could be adapted so that it is easier to disengagethe projection from the recess when force is exerted in the forwarddirection rather than the backward direction. However, as with one-waystirrups, this embodiment would only work properly if the stirrup weremounted on the saddle strap in the correct orientation.

The stirrup strap may be passed through the stirrup between the U-shapedmember and the foot support. Alternatively the U-shaped member may beadapted for attachment of a stirrup strap using any conventionalarrangement such as a slot in the U-shaped mounting member through whichthe strap can be threaded, or a bar around which the strap can bewrapped, or a known toggle-type connection.

Typically, the flat, straight section of the D-shaped foot supportcomprises the footplate against which the sole of the rider's boot restsduring mounting or normal riding. The foot support can be in anyconvenient form, such as a bar, case plate or slotted plate that isoriented in a generally horizontal plane during normal use.

While the safety stirrup of the present invention could be manufacturedout of metal, the design is sufficiently simple that it could bemanufactured out of other convenient materials such as polymers orplastic, and composites such as carbon/graphite composites. Polymers andplastic provide weight advantages over metal, which is the traditionalmaterial of construction for stirrups. Furthermore, polymers, unlikemost metals, have the ability to stretch and therefore easilyredistribute load forces. Preferably, the safety stirrup of the presentinvention is formed by injection molding.

The invention will now be further described with reference to thefollowing drawings that depict non-limiting embodiments of the safetystirrup of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the safety stirrup of thepresent inventions the normal in-use position.

FIG. 2a is a perspective view towards the side of a D-shaped footsupport of a safety stirrup of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2b is a view of the inside of one arm of the U-shaped mountingmember of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2c is a view of the outer side of the arm depicted in FIG. 2b.

FIG. 3a is a perspective view towards the side of a D-shaped footsupport of a further embodiment of the safety stirrup of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3b is a view of the inside of one arm of the U-shaped mountingmember of the further embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a safety stirrup according to the presentinvention when the stirrup is in the normal in-use position. The drawingshows an inverted U-shaped mounting member (5) comprising a horizontalbar (7) to which the stirrup strap may be attached. Located within theU-shaped mounting member is a D-shaped foot support (1) for receiving arider's foot, including a footplate (12) which rests against the sole ofthe rider's boot.

When the stirrup is in normal use, the foot support (10) lies in thesame plane as the U-shaped mounting member (5) and is held in place bytwo mountings located on either side of the U-shaped mounting member.

FIG. 2a is a perspective view towards a side of a D-shaped foot support.In this view the cylindrical shaped primary projection (10) and mushroomshaped secondary projection (11) can be seen. Identical projections alsoexist on the other side of the foot support but cannot be seen in thisview.

FIG. 2b is a view of one arm of the U-shaped mounting member of FIG. 1showing recesses (10′, 11′) for receiving the primary projection (10)and secondary projection (11) of FIG. 2a. Recess (11′) receives themushroom shaped projection (11), the neck of the mushroom residing inthe slot-shaped part of the recess. The head of the mushroom is locatedentirely within the U-shaped mounting member and is not visible when thestirrup is in normal use. A biasing means, in this case a spring (15),is located within the recess. Recess (10′) receives the cylindricalshaped primary projection (10). In the event of the rider beingdismounted, the rider's foot moves out of the normal in-use position.The vertical component of the force exerted by the rider's foot causesthe primary projection to move out of the indentation (10″) in which itrests, into the passage, or curved part of the recess. The amount ofvertical force required will depend on the depth of the indentation. Ifthe indentation is very shallow, the primary projection may almost rollor slide out into the passage. Simultaneously, the secondary projectionmoves against the force exerted by the biasing means (15). As therotation of the rider's foot increases, the primary projection followsthe passage in the recess (10′) in the direction of rotation until itleaves the passage and the projection is no longer in contact with theU-shaped mounting member. As this occurs, the secondary projection (11)rotates in its recess (11′) and when the primary projection (10) is freeof the U-shaped mounting means, the secondary projection (11) can moveout of the recess (11′), thus completely disengaging the foot supportfrom the U-shaped mounting means.

FIG. 2c shows the outer side of the arm depicted in FIG. 2b. In thisview, it is clear that the primary and secondary projections are notvisible when the stirrup is in normal use.

FIG. 3a is a perspective view towards a side of a D-shaped foot supportaccording to a further embodiment of the safety stirrup of the presentinvention. In this view, the mushroom shaped second projection (22) canbe seen. Above the second projection is a discontinuous recesscomprising an indentation (30 a) and two passages (30 b, 30 c) forreceiving a third projection on the D-shaped foot support. A recess (25)comprising an indentation and elongate passage for receiving a primaryprojection on the D-shaped foot support is also shown. Identicalprojections and recesses also exist on the other side of the footsupport but cannot be seen in this view.

FIG. 3b is a view of one arm of the U-shaped mounting member of thefurther embodiment showing the primary projection (25′) to be receivedin the recess (25) depicted in FIG. 3a. Recess (22′) is for receivingthe mushroom shaped secondary projection (22) depicted in FIG. 3a, theneck of the mushroom residing in the slot-shaped part of the recess, thehead of the mushroom being visible on the outside of the U-shaped memberwhen the stirrup is in normal use. During normal use of the stirrup, athird projection (30′) is located within the indentation (30 a) depictedin FIG. 3a. In the event of the rider being dismounted, the rider's footmoves out of the normal in-use position. The vertical component of theforce exerted causes the D-shaped foot support to move verticallyupwards relative to the U-shaped support member, so that primaryprojection (25′) moves out of the indentation in the recess (25) andinto the elongate passage. Simultaneously, the secondary projection (22)moves upwards in the recess (22′), the third projection (30′) moving outof the indentation (30 a) and into either passage 30 b or 30 c,depending on the direction of rotation of the D-shaped foot support.This movement of the third projection (30′) is facilitated in part byflexing of the U-shaped member, which thus acts as a biasing means. Asthe rotation of the rider's foot increases, the primary projection (25′)follows the moves along the recess (25) in the direction of rotationuntil it leaves the passage and the projection is no longer in contactwith the U-shaped mounting member. As this occurs, the secondaryprojection (22) rotates in its recess (22′) and when the primaryprojection (25′) is free of the U-shaped mounting means, the secondaryprojection (22) can move out of the recess (22′), thus completelydisengaging the foot support from the U-shaped mounting means.

FIG. 3c shows the outer side of the arm depicted in FIG. 3b. In thisview, it is clear that the head of the mushroom shaped secondaryprojection would be visible when the stirrup is in normal use.

While the foregoing describes preferred embodiments of the invention,various modification scan be included without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A safety stirrup including: a generally U-shapedmounting member, and a foot support member for receiving a rider's foot,such that when the rider's foot is in the normal use position, the footsupport member is restrained by mountings located on each side of thefoot support member having primary projections and secondary projectionson the foot support member, wherein during normal use the secondaryprojections are located in recesses adjacent the ends of the U-shapedmounting member but vertically upward movement of the rider's foot outof the normal use position causes the mountings to release the footsupport member sufficiently that the foot support member can move in thesame direction as the rider's foot until the foot support member isfully disconnected from the U-shaped mounting member, the secondaryprojections moving in their respective recesses and rotating in the samedirection as the rider's foot prior to the foot support member beingfully disconnected from the U-shaped mounting member.
 2. A safetystirrup according to claim 1 having two mountings, each mountingcomprising at least one primary projection which, when the stirrup is inthe normal use position, is received in complementary shaped recess. 3.A safety stirrup according to claim 2 wherein at least one primaryprojection is located on one side of the foot support member, and atleast one primary projection is located on an opposing side of the footsupport member, each primary projection being received in acomplementary shaped recess in the U-shaped mounting member.
 4. A safetystirrup according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the complementaryshaped recesses includes an indentation in which the primary projectionresides during normal use, but vertical movement of the rider's foot outof the normal use position causes the primary projection to move out ofthe indentation, releasing the foot support sufficiently that theprojection can move along a guide and the foot support member can movein the same direction as the rider's foot prior to the foot supportbeing fully disconnected from the U-shaped mounting member.
 5. A safetystirrup according to claim 1 which further includes a biasing means toresist movement of the secondary projections in their respectiverecesses.
 6. A safety stirrup according to claim 1 which is constructedof non-metallic material.